Campaign Trail Results: Game #918770
Play The Campaign Trail
This Game:
- Year: 1960
- Player Candidate: John F. Kennedy
- Running Mate: Stuart Symington
- Difficulty Level: Hard
- Winner Take All Mode?: Yes
- Game Played:
- entersjack
View overall results, or a specific state:
| Candidate | Electoral Votes | Popular Votes | Pop. Vote % |
|---|---|---|---|
| ---- Richard Nixon | 414 | 34,382,271 | 51.22 |
| ---- John F. Kennedy | 104 | 31,717,930 | 47.25 |
| ---- Harry Byrd | 19 | 1,031,618 | 1.54 |
Visits:
- Illinois:5
- California:3
- Missouri:3
- Ohio:1
Answers:
- What kind of tone will you attempt to set in your campaign this fall?I will campaign as a mainstream liberal Democrat, emphasizing key parts of our platform and pressing the case for more vigilance in our national defense.
- What do you have to say about the selection of Stuart Symington as your running mate?Stuart Symington has served his home state of Missouri well for many years, as Harry Truman himself has noted, and is a staunch Democrat.
- There has been a proposal for a series of television debates between you and Kennedy. Is this something you are interested in?I would love to go against Nixon in a televised debate. We could use the exposure and I'm confident that I would win.
- Anti-Catholicism has been a huge issue thus far in the campaign, with hundreds of pamphlets and leaflets being distributed across the South and Midwest. Do you have any comment?We can't be out there responding to every little two-bit leaflet that some crank puts out. Let's wait and see how this issue develops.
- Anti-Catholicism continues to be an issue. Major newspapers have published a statement by 150 Protestant clergy, including Norman Vincent Peale, opposing any Catholic as President. Do you have any comment?Let's take this opportunity to make a major speech on the topic. I will address this issue exclusively in a televised speech, and put it to rest for good.
- There have been a large number of sit-ins recently, where black students and activists are sitting at whites-only lunch counters and department stores to advocate for desegregation. Do you support this movement?This movement has my full support, as do the other civil rights measures of our day. I will push for a Civil Rights Act as President.
- Richard Nixon has made "experience" the centerpiece of his campaign. What do you have to say on this point?I will bring new, dynamic leadership to this country as President. I don't see how this line of argument puts me at any disadvantage.
- There was a recent effort in Congress to pass a program to provide medical care to elderly Americans, but it was narrowly defeated. Will you make a further push for this type of program as President?I would redouble our efforts on this front. Too many of our nation's elderly are unable to afford decent medical care in their advanced years.
- Do you believe that the islands of Quemoy and Matsu should fall within the United States defense perimeter in Asia?It wouldn't be responsible of me to comment at this point. As President I will consult with our military leaders to determine what is appropriate.
- Currently the highest income tax bracket pays a rate of 91%. Will you work harder to cut tax rates as President?I would be open to this, depending on how the economy goes in the next year or two.
- Is the United States adequately prepared to defend against the Soviet threat today?We can never be fully satisfied, but we have certainly held our own in the Cold War over the past eight years, compared to where we were during the Korean War.
- Do you believe the United States is adequately prepared to defend against the Soviet threat over the next ten years?We have a missile gap, and an overly tight monetary policy that is constraining our growth. I'm very concerned that these shortfalls will allow the Soviet Union to gain an advantage if they are not addressed.
- During the Great Depression, the federal government began a policy of farm subsidies to stabilize farm incomes and to target a specific output of each crop. Are these policies still necessary in 1960?They are absolutely necessary. Farmers are not in a good position to bargain for their crops, and any economic weakness in that sector can easily cause a recession in the broader economy.
- What is your opinion on the current level of education funding in the United States? Would you increase federal education funding, even if it meant higher taxes or a larger budget deficit?Education is a key front in our battle with Communism, and that includes adequate pay and respect for our nation's teachers. I would support additional federal spending on this.
- Would you support the passage of a federal civil rights bill as President to address the worst excesses of segregation in the South?We need to do anything we can to move our nation forward on this issue, including a civil rights bill and measures to protect voting rights.
- Recently, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested at a sit-in in Atlanta, and has now been sentenced to four months in prison for failing to get a Georgia driver's license after moving to that state. Do you have any comment or action you would like to take?Let's make a call to Mrs. King to offer our condolences, and let's demand the release of Mr. King.
- Are you satisfied with the economy and the economic policies of this country over the past eight years?We must do better. Our present Administration has advocated a hard money policy which caused the recession of 1958 and left idle industrial capacity in our country.
- Do you support a minimum wage of $1.25 per hour, with some exceptions for small business? Such a measure was recently defeated in Congress.Our current minimum wage is sufficient in my opinion. The minimum wage is a necessary expedient but we shouldn't be increasing it so much that we cause unemployment.
- How serious, at the current time, do you believe the internal Communist threat is?The last thing we need is a return to excesses and witch-hunts of the early 1950s. We need to keep ourselves focused on the external Communist threat.
- Do you believe that Cuba has been lost to the Communists as of this time? If so, do you think it is partially the fault of the United States?We've seen some alarming things out of Cuba, but this isn't necessarily a lost cause. Cuba has not declared itself a Communist state and we should be making overtures to prevent that.
- Should the United States apologize to the Soviet Union for the controversy surrounding the downed U-2 spy plane and surrounding espionage?Absolutely not. We cannot show weakness in the face of the Soviet threat, and the Paris Summit collapsed from the intransigence of Nikita Khrushchev.
- Did Dwight Eisenhower do the right thing when he sent federal troops to Little Rock to ensure the integration of the high school there?He absolutely did, and I would like to see further action to desegregate our schools and enforce our civil rights.
- Has the United States adequately defended against the Communist threat in Indochina? Would you support further action there if necessary?I believe we need to defend South Vietnam at all costs, whatever commitment of our forces that entails.
- Do you believe that current levels of defense spending are adequate?I believe that we need more vigilance in the area of defense, for both military equipment and for missile development. We currently have a missile gap with the Soviet Union.
- Where will you spend your final day before the election?We will travel to California and the West Coast.